Out of the boat

Well, what has been on our hearts for a number of years is finally a reality. We’re moving out of the Lower Mainland and into a small town.

Our house in Surrey has sold and we have purchased a home on a treed 5 acres in Salmon Arm, the largest town in the Shuswap.

I will continue to work for http://www.thewellspringfoundation.com and am so thankful for that!

My role will pretty much stay the same as the Communications Manager, with one addition: I will start to make new connections and nurture existing one in the Okanagan/Shuswap.

We are really excited to start the next chapter in our lives.

“Rwanda rises despite the doubters. Like a watering hole to it’s faithful guest, Wellspring seeks to quench the thirst for education, graduation and a renewed sense of purpose.” Bruno Kabagema

The Wellspring Academy primary school students are growing up and will soon be entering secondary school… at the Wellspring Academy! That’s right, we’re working on the secondary school. We need it done by 2012 so our kids have a place to learn and grow as they become the next generation of leaders in their country.

Buy a Brick, Build a School is an online campaign to raise funds for the bricks to build the Wellspring Academy Secondary School. Check out my personal Buy a Brick page and partner with me to help complete our secondary school. Your help will empower the next generation of Rwandan leaders (over the course of their WHOLE grade school education) through an education that transforms lives. Help quench the thirst for education in Rwanda.

Just got back from the premiere of Rwanda: Hope Rises – a GREAT film.

Nicholas and Elsie Hitimana have an amazing story, as I’m sure any Rwandan who survived 1994 must have.

During the q & a after the screening Trevor mentioned that the film leaves a lot of questions unanswered. It does; and I hope that those unanswered questions encourage people to seek out the answers and get involved in what is happening in Rwanda through Wellspring and other organizations.

I also hope that those in DRC, Burundi and Darfur can learn from Rwanda–from the genocide, from the rebuilding on the nation and from the HOPE that is there.

If you get a chance to see the film, you should. Check out the website for more info about upcoming screenings, or to host a screening.

Last night I was invited by Richard Taylor and David Knight of The Wellspring Foundation for Education to hear Craig Kielburger speak at the Bell Centre in Surrey.

The evening was sponsored by Investors Group and was a great event.

I had a chance to do a bit of networking and hear an amazing speaker. What I’ve taken with me from last night it the fact that it is possible. It is possible to end the most extreme cases of poverty (More than 1 Billion people live on less than a dollar a day) in the world in our lifetime.